The Spiritually Rich Life
““Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” ”
Are you living in spiritual poverty?
During the great depression, there was a man named Yates who owned a sheep ranch. During that time Yates wasn’t able to make enough money on his ranching operation in order to pay the principal, let alone the interest, on his mortgage. He was in danger of losing his ranch, so like many others during that time, he had to live on government subsidy.
Throughout the weeks, Yates would watch over his sheep and be filled with anxiety about how to pay his bills. One day, a seismographic crew showed up on Yates’ land with a proposal. They believed there might be oil in his hills and requested permission to drill. Yates’ agreed to the proposal and signed the lease contract.
At 1,115 feet they struck a massive oil reserve, that first well ended up producing approximately 80,000 barrels of oil a day. Many of the subsequent wells drilled were twice as large. Since its discovery, it has produced over 1 billion barrels of oil. Even today, 30+ years later, a government test of one of the wells showed the potential flow of over 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
And Mr. Yates owned all of it.
On the day he purchased the land he received with it all the oil and mineral rights. He was effectively a multi-millionaire, yet he had been living on government subsidy this entire time. Yates was unaware of the wealth and riches just below the surface.
So many Christians are living in spiritual poverty, completely unaware of the riches just below the surface! Don’t believe me? Check out this verse, in 1 Corinthians 12:7 which states,
“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
That’s right, when you accepted Jesus as your lord and savior you were given the Holy Spirit. He is the advocate who transforms you from the inside out. Not only that but you were given Spiritual Gifts from the Holy Spirit! These are not gifts we use to puff ourselves up but instead use them to serve others so that they may see our work and glorify God.
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 states,
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
What’s amazing about these verses is that it also shows us how to use our spiritual gifts. In verse 4 we learn that it's up to us to discover and develop our spiritual gifts. Verse 5 tells us that we do this by deploying our spiritual gifts to serve others wherever God leads us. Finally, verse 6 tells us that when we do those steps, God takes care of the results! It’s almost like a math equation, gifts plus service equals God working. Discover your gifts, put them into service, and watch God work!
I want to encourage you to dive into God’s word and learn more about the Spiritual Gifts God has given to you and distributed amongst you and those around you. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, “… which God prepared in advance for us to do.” You were created for the foundational purpose of loving God and others. That’s why you were made. Your vocational purpose is built on top of that. That’s why you are here.
The secret to living a spiritually rich life, a life filled with His power and purpose, is found in discovering why God has you here on earth. He has given you everything you need to fulfill the purpose he’s calling you to fulfill. If you want a full and rich life, discover your gifts and put them into service and rely on and trust the source of your strength, Christ who is our lord.
